Convertible vehicles are known that have a flexible roof cover secured to a metal roof frame, whereby the cover is stretched in the front area over a support cross-structure, often also referred to as a roof strut. Such a roof strut can consist, for example, of several individual supports or a die-cast structure, for example of a light metal alloy or a metal foam, with an upper and a lower shell. The roof strut, in addition to the stretching function, can also serve as a support for locking parts of the roof onto the windshield frame, and also operating elements for it, at least in semiautomatic roofs. In each case, this roof section extends farther downward into the passenger compartment than a subsequent roof surface and thereby constitutes a risk of impact during accidents, especially for large adult occupants. This applies especially to sports vehicles, such as two-seat roadsters, in which the windshield is very strongly sloped and the roof is low overall. Under such space conditions, it is therefore also particularly difficult to combine the smallest possible outside dimension of the roof strut with accommodation of locking elements.
The underlying problem of the invention is to improve safety in a convertible vehicle of the type mentioned.